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Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle
Norma Hernandez, 55, and her husband Jose Luis Hernandez, 56, inflate balloons, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston for the yearly Hyatt Regency Houston New Year's Eve Party for the 23rd year in a row. This year is the 40th year the hotel has been celebrating the New Year. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle )
lessNorma Hernandez, 55, and her husband Jose Luis Hernandez, 56, inflate balloons, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston for the yearly Hyatt Regency Houston New Year's Eve Party for the 23rd year in a row. This
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The Hyatt Regency Houston will release 50,000 balloons at midnight on New Year's Eve as part of the celebration of the 40th year of the party. Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle )
lessThe Hyatt Regency Houston will release 50,000 balloons at midnight on New Year's Eve as part of the celebration of the 40th year of the party. Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston
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Cristina Villicana, 51, throws a balloon into a pile of elongated balloons in preparation for the Ruby Red New Year's Eve Party at Hyatt Regency Houston, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle )
lessCristina Villicana, 51, throws a balloon into a pile of elongated balloons in preparation for the Ruby Red New Year's Eve Party at Hyatt Regency Houston, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus
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Jose Luis Hernandez, 56, inflates balloons with Norma Garcia, 39, in preparation for Ruby Red New Year's Eve Party at Hyatt Regency Houston, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle )
lessJose Luis Hernandez, 56, inflates balloons with Norma Garcia, 39, in preparation for Ruby Red New Year's Eve Party at Hyatt Regency Houston, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston
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A balloon gets inflated in preparation for the Ruby Red New Year's Eve Party at Hyatt Regency Houston, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. 50,000 balloons will be released midnight on New Year's Eve. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle )
lessA balloon gets inflated in preparation for the Ruby Red New Year's Eve Party at Hyatt Regency Houston, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. 50,000 balloons will be released midnight on New Year's Eve. ( Marie
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Raquel Ruiz, 54, fills up balloons as part of the Ruby Red New Year's Eve Party at Hyatt Regency Houston, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. 50,000 balloon drop at midnight as part of the party. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle )
lessRaquel Ruiz, 54, fills up balloons as part of the Ruby Red New Year's Eve Party at Hyatt Regency Houston, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. 50,000 balloon drop at midnight as part of the party. ( Marie D. De
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Norma Hernandez, 55, has been inflating balloons for the yearly Hyatt Regency Houston New Year's Eve Party for 23 years. This year is the 40th year the hotel has been celebrating the New Year. Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle )
lessNorma Hernandez, 55, has been inflating balloons for the yearly Hyatt Regency Houston New Year's Eve Party for 23 years. This year is the 40th year the hotel has been celebrating the New Year. Saturday, Dec.
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50,000 inflated balloons will be released at midnight on New Year's Eve to celebrate the new year as part of the Hyatt Regency Houston's Ruby Red New Year's Eve Party. Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle )
less50,000 inflated balloons will be released at midnight on New Year's Eve to celebrate the new year as part of the Hyatt Regency Houston's Ruby Red New Year's Eve Party. Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. (
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Raquel Ruiz, 54, tapes her fingers to protect them from blistering, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. Ruiz and other workers are responsible to inflate and make knots to 50,000 balloons in preparation for the Ruby Red New Year's Eve Party at Hyatt Regency Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle )
lessRaquel Ruiz, 54, tapes her fingers to protect them from blistering, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Houston. Ruiz and other workers are responsible to inflate and make knots to 50,000 balloons in preparation for
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The Ruby Red New YearÂs Eve Party at the Hyatt Regency Houston features a midnight cascade of 50,000 red balloons, two live bands, DJ, party favors and a drawing.
The Ruby Red New YearÂs Eve Party at the Hyatt Regency Houston features a midnight cascade of 50,000 red balloons, two live bands, DJ, party favors and a drawing.
Photo: Courtesy Photo
Oralia Valdez (bottom), Maria Garcia (middle) and Danyelle Valdez (top), with Fantastic Balloons, fill one of two giant nets with over 50,000 balloons for the Hyatt Regency Houston hotel's annual New Year's Eve party and balloon drop, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, in Houston. ( Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle )
lessOralia Valdez (bottom), Maria Garcia (middle) and Danyelle Valdez (top), with Fantastic Balloons, fill one of two giant nets with over 50,000 balloons for the Hyatt Regency Houston hotel's annual New Year's Eve
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Workers from Funtastic Balloons send balloons over the ledge as they work to inflate and distribute 50,000 balloons in netting atop Hyatt Regency Houston's 33-story atrium lobby on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014, in Houston. More than 2,000 people are expected to attend Houston's longest running New Year's Eve party, that culminates with the balloon drop at the stroke of midnight. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
lessWorkers from Funtastic Balloons send balloons over the ledge as they work to inflate and distribute 50,000 balloons in netting atop Hyatt Regency Houston's 33-story atrium lobby on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014, in
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The Hyatt Regency Houston will greet the new year by dropping 50,000 balloons from the hotel's 33-story atrium.
The Hyatt Regency Houston will greet the new year by dropping 50,000 balloons from the hotel's 33-story atrium.
Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff
One of two giant nets being filled with 50,000 balloons waits to be dropped over the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Houston hotel's annual New Year's Eve party, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, in Houston.
One of two giant nets being filled with 50,000 balloons waits to be dropped over the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Houston hotel's annual New Year's Eve party, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, in Houston.
Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle
Two giant nets being filled with 50,000 balloons wait to be dropped over the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Houston hotel's annual New Year's Eve party, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, in Houston.
Two giant nets being filled with 50,000 balloons wait to be dropped over the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Houston hotel's annual New Year's Eve party, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, in Houston.
Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle
Workers with Fantastic Balloons fill one of two giant nets with over 50,000 balloons for the Hyatt Regency Houston hotel's annual New Year's Eve party and balloon drop, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, in Houston.
Workers with Fantastic Balloons fill one of two giant nets with over 50,000 balloons for the Hyatt Regency Houston hotel's annual New Year's Eve party and balloon drop, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, in Houston.
Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle
The Hyatt Regency, with balloons ready for New Year's Eve, will be renovated.
The Hyatt Regency, with balloons ready for New Year's Eve, will be renovated.
Photo: JOHNNY HANSON, FOR THE CHRONICLE
Jose Garcia, of Fantastic Ballooon throws a giant balloon as he, his son Misael Garcia, left, and other balloon inflaters fill 50,000 balloons in the Hyatt Regency's atrium, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012, in Houston. The balloons will be released on New Years during the hotel's New Years Eve party. It takes about a minute for the balloons to fall 30-stories.
lessJose Garcia, of Fantastic Ballooon throws a giant balloon as he, his son Misael Garcia, left, and other balloon inflaters fill 50,000 balloons in the Hyatt Regency's atrium, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012, in Houston.
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Gardenia Hernandez, 20, right, with Funtastic Balloons, drops a large black balloon into the pile, as the Hyatt Regency Houston prepares for its 36th annual New Year's Eve party and signature 50,000 balloon drop from its 33-story atrium, Monday, Dec. 30, 2013, in Houston. The event is Houston's longest-running New Year's Eve party, and will include two live bands, Fab 5 and Roger Creager, a DJ and the 50,000 balloon drop at midnight.
lessGardenia Hernandez, 20, right, with Funtastic Balloons, drops a large black balloon into the pile, as the Hyatt Regency Houston prepares for its 36th annual New Year's Eve party and signature 50,000 balloon
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Family rings in New Year with breath-taking tradition
At midnight Sunday, 50,000 balloons will drop from the top of the Hyatt Regency Houston's 33-story atrium. The New Year's spectacle in downtown Houston — now in its 40th year — is an annual tradition for those who can afford the party's $150 ticket.
Norma Hernandez and her family have never been, though she imagines it's a beautiful sight.
"We just fill them up," Norma said in Spanish on Saturday morning, raising her voice to be heard over the hum of four air compressors.
Norma, 55, ripped open a new bag of balloons, pulled one out, slipped it over an air nozzle and watched it inflate. A second later, she tied it off, tossed it over the edge and onto netting stretched across the atrium's top level, then quickly grabbed another.
"She's the fastest of all of us," said Maria Hernandez, Norma's 38-year-old daughter. "She can do six or seven a minute."
That's about 390 balloons an hour, 3,120 balloons per day — and somewhere in the neighborhood of 143,000 balloons since she and her family started doing this 23 years ago, when her husband, a roofer, volunteered his family for the assignment with Funtastic Balloons to make some extra money around the holidays.
"It's a slow time of year for roofing," Jose Hernandez said. "This has become a family tradition."
They've gotten better at the task over the years. It used to take them three days. Now their 12-person crew — nearly all of them relatives or friends — can get the job done in under two. The inflaters have a wide range of day jobs, none of them balloon-related: A mortgage broker, a preschool teacher, a chemical plant laborer, a stay-at-home mom.
They all wrap their fingers with tape, a strategy Norma developed that first year after her fingers started to blister.
New Year's at Hyatt Regency Houston
When: 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Dec. 31
Location: 1200 Louisiana
Cost: Overnight packages start at $349 for two people.
More details: http://houston.regency.hyatt.com
"Your fingers will be raw after only 30 balloons," Jose said. "You've got to protect them."
The hotel reserves a pair of hotel rooms for the family each year, but the Hernandezes have never stayed for the big celebration, which is expected to attract 2,000 people. Instead they always host their own party at home, where dozens of family members eat tamales and play games before counting down the end of another year.
Norma tied off another balloon and tossed it over the edge. It must have caught in a stream of air from a heat vent, causing it to drift left and miss the netting.
The lone red balloon fell slowly toward the floor, 30 stories down.
"It's kind of pretty," one of the Hernandezes said. "Imagine all of them at once."
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Family-rings-in-New-Year-with-breath-taking-12463827.php
